I guess we could describe this as an old-fashioned arm-wrestle. There was no real science to this clash. No scathingly brilliant tactics or made-to-order game plans.

It was just one of those mid-season affairs where neither team has had ample time to prepare anything more than their bodies for a physical affair. At this time of year teams simply go with the basics and hope for the best.

Emotionally, Parramatta certainly came to play last night. It's not all that often I can say these words about the Eels.

Predicting their demeanour on any given day is a bit like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get.

On this occasion, though, their energy levels looked good and there was obvious intent in the collisions. The efforts of their forwards were particularly impressive.

Despite the closeness of the scores, the Parramatta big men dominated their rivals. By half-time they had made a total of 772 metres with the ball in hand compared to only 596 metres by the Broncos. I thought they overshadowed the Broncos forwards in the second stanza as well.

Big Fuifui Moimoi was strong onto the ball. Captain Nathan Cayless used his footwork to good effect around the play-the-ball area. Both these men made strong gains.

Given this dominance over the advantage line, one must question the try-scoring capabilities of these Parramatta back-line players.

Coming into this clash the Eels had scored only 199 points so far this season, which ranks 15th in the NRL. Only the Cronulla Sharks have scored fewer.

Last night they had no trouble taking the ball upfield, but once they were in an attacking position, their structure was awful. Despite plenty of possession at the right end of the field, they posted only one try in the whole match and this was a scrambling effort after a cross-field bomb.

There is little fluency to their play and they rely too heavily on the ad-lib style of their fullback, Jarryd Hayne. Hayne does not play a normal fullback's game. He doesn't complement others within the team. He makes no use of the talents of his teammates.

He doesn't plan anything. He gets the ball in his hands at dummy-half and first receiver only when he feels the need. It must be difficult for others to complement him as well. When Hayne has the ball, his outside backs really don't look like they know what he's going to do next.

Half Daniel Mortimer is a livewire player but looks so awkward in a ball-playing role.

When he was first given the No. 7 jersey, coach Daniel Anderson eased him into this first receiver position with a limited number of simple plays to his repertoire. Since that time there has been no advance in this playlist and he's not improving in his execution. I also see no real effort from teammates to build their game around him and give the kid confidence.

The Eels cannot settle on someone to handle the five-eighth position. That doesn't help either.

The rest of the Parramatta attacking game revolves around the quick-fire offloads from their forwards - which can be very dangerous - but they also produce the unwanted turnovers when the team is under pressure. Their fifth-tackle kick options are awful. Misdirected kicks repeatedly eased the pressure on the Broncos last night.

The Brisbane boys were very professional about their work. They defended intelligently. They really didn't look to be under pressure from the Eels attack. As a result, they probably knew they only had to score a couple of tries to win.

They persevered with their stock-standard attacking style. The forwards delivered a toiling effort in attack and defence; it was competent without being anything outstanding. Five-eighth Darren Lockyer played his usual solid captain's knock. He threatened to send his speed men away on several occasions but nothing really clicked.

The Broncos value any victory during the Origin series each year so this two competition points at Parramatta Stadium represent a welcome addition to their stash.

The big thing to come out of this game was the growing concern over Parramatta's try-scoring capabilities. I can't see them making another grand final surge on this form.